Ex-India pellet prices have consolidated at higher levels amid the positive mood and active trading coupled with the expected tightening of supplies during the monsoon season just weeks ahead, SteelOrbis learned from trade and industry circles on Friday, June 16.
Ex-India pellet prices have been reported in the range of $125-129/mt CFR China, higher than $120-125/mt CFR a week ago, with at least one trade confirmed at a week’s high of $140/mt CFR for high grade with alumina-silica content of less than two percent.
An Odisha-based pellet plant has confirmed a booking for 50,000 mt at $128/mt CFR, while concluding another smaller tonnage of 25,000 mt at $125/mt CFR.
Another pellet producer has concluded a tender-based sale of 50,000 mt, receiving a highest bid of $129/mt CFR, sources said.
A pellet producing arm of an Odisha based integrated steel mill has reported a deal for 60,000 mt at $128/mt CFR, the sources said.
An Odisha-based pellet plant reported a deal for 50,000 mt of high-grade pellet with silica-alumina content less than two percent at $140/mt CFR and, even though this was a rare peak for the week, industry insiders claimed it to be an indication of the market getting a strong tailwind.
“The situation on the demand side is getting buoyant with mills in China restarting to restock as margins from finished steel sales are improving. We are hearing portside stocks in China are also on the lower side and hence the rising interest in the seaborne market,” a member of the Pellet Manufacturer’s Association of India (PMAI) said.
“The supply side is also expected to get tight with the approaching monsoon season and resultant logistical challenges of transportation of iron ore fines from pithead to pellet plants on the one hand and from pellet plants to port on the other. In fact, the supply tightening is already evident from the fact that already port stockyards have no volumes available for immediate loading,” he said.